Oh goodness!

(Me with my beautiful roommates on Halloween--That's me the cat-Meow!!)

It's been a long time since I blogged! I knew it had been, but I was trying to get the energy to write something really good. Well, I'm sick again. I think working at the preschool has exposed me to all sorts of new bugs. Hopefully I'll build up a gigantic immunity and I won't get sick at all this winter!!! (Wishful thinking!)

I can't believe it's only 8:30 pm. This whole daylight savings time really throws me off. Since the change, it gets to be 6pm and I think it's bedtime because it's dark outside. I remember similarly on my mission going home at 4pm in the winter time for dinner and it would be getting dark then. Imagine how much I wanted to go back out and work in the cold and dark! Nevertheless, I did. I've taken little naps every afternoon this week too, because I just get exhausting running after kids all day. At the beginning, my feet hurt because I was used to being lethargic all day. Now I'm used to standing up and so they don't hurt any more. I also burn more calories standing up, hooray ;-) Something else that's nice is that I get 2 healthy meals a day: breakfast and lunch, and I don't have to buy it myself. That's a definite benefit of working at a daycare/preschool. Granted, the school lunches aren't anything to write home about, but if it gets me through the day and I'm not spending extra money to go out for lunch, I'm a-ok!! I don't know if this is true in all states, but in Georgia the pre-K is funded by the state. Well, funded by the lottery, anyway. So, it's free for all kids. I could really see it being beneficial as long as you can get and keep good teachers. My roommate's class (where I spend most of my time there), is very smart, and very lucky to have such a good teacher. Most of them are 4 years old and they are recognizing and writing the letters. About half of the 20 kids can write their names legibly at this point of the school year. I know that I went into Kindergarten being able to read, but I know that wasn't the case with most of the kids I went to school with. In my Kindergarten class there were only 2 kids who could read, myself and another boy. He actually read better than I, which I remember made me mad. I was academically competetive, even back then.

I did take my big test on Saturday the 3rd. I got very ill the day before. I was throwing up and everything--it was awful. But I received a priesthood blessing and while I went to that test the next day with a headache and a tender stomach, I never felt nauseous and I was able to succesfully complete the test. The scores will be reported at the end of November. I believe I passed, but I'm not going to say for sure because you just never know, do you? I remember feeling very nervous about my answers to the 2 short essay questions. Well, if it's the Lord's will, then I passed, didn't I? Two days later, on Monday, I received a call from Gwinnett county saying that I had been approved to be on the substitute list and that I could attend a sub workshop on the 30th of November. Timewise it's far away, but I have a guaranteed job until Thanksgiving, and then I should be able to substitute teach in the public schools starting in December. I went to a job fair last Saturday and was able to leave my resume with 4 or 5 different middle schools. When I spoke with their representatives, their advice was pretty much always the same: "Get into long-term substituting". I know that substitute teaching will open doors for me. While it's difficult financially, I have faith in the Lord and I'm continuing to pay my tithing. I'm not the type of person that enjoys a really drawn-out means to an end, but the Lord recently has been teaching me this sort of patience. Spending at least 4 months in an effort to become a teacher (most of it just waiting for the next step) is not on my list of the most efficient paths ever. But, I know that the experiences I am having now are helping me to prepare and that they are necessary. In the Lord's own time shall all blessings be realized ...